Justine

I wished Ling Yi got a better ending though. She made some mistakes, but she definitely didn't deserve what happened to her. Oh well, can't be all rainbows and sunshines I guess.

I usually find slice of life dramas to be a slogfest, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

As a Season 1 enthusiast, I didn't like Season 2.

They "idol-fied" the drama too much. The ML turned into almost a completely different character. He's all expressive / smiley / "smirky" in S2. His serious, stoic personality in S1 made for some great comedic moments with the cast especially Jing Yi thanks to the contrast in personality. But now BOTH of them are smiley. So, any chemistry & comedic moments between them just falls flat.

FL was ok. She kind of lost her adorable "country bumpkin" charm from S1. But I guess it's natural that she becomes more sophisticated since she's supposed to have matured after a 3-year timeskip. Still, that was part of what made her character so enjoyable in S1.

The antagonists aren't as interesting. The head eunuch in S1 was such an enjoyable, likable antagonist. The way he spoke, his comedy, everything.

The cases aren't as well laid-out or interesting, the leads' romance feels somewhat forced / excessive and unnatural, and overall, it just did not have the magic that S1 did.

S1 was a massive success, scoring 8.0 on Douban with 400k+ ratings. Needless to say, it did a lot of things right and people would expect & want the sequel to follow a similar formula. But past the surface level (cast, music), it just feels like a very different drama. I can't see S2 scoring above the low 6's, maybe even below 6.

I mean, it's hard to overrate a drama on Douban. Season 1 has a score of 8.0 with 400k+ ratings. Very few dramas have achieved that. Strange Tales managed to. Coroner's Diary isn't even close.

Was worried they dropped the ball this season while watching ep 1, but it picked up quickly and I'm enjoying the show.
Definitely more used to the stoic, "wooden" version of the ML from S1, so I was taken aback by the change in personality, but it's not a big deal, I like this version too (could've dialed back the fluff/romance a bit, felt slightly forced / unnatural at times compared to season 1)
The suspense and intrigue from S1 is still there.
Overall, happy with how it's turned out!

Is it still boring from ep 27-ish onwards?

What do you mean second arc?
I kind of stopped at episode 26, not sure if I should continue.

I mean, context matters.
After his father died, he had to shoulder the responsibility of supporting his mom and sister from a young age through any means. Despite his efforts, he still had to watch his mother die in front of him. His sister's scum husband even said in front of his face that treating his mom was a waste of money and they should've just let her die sooner.

I fully expect someone who went through what Li Xun had to go through to become a self-centered person, caring about no one but himself & his family.
He does get better over time in the drama as he meets good people who finally gives him some sense of warmth, especially the FL. It obviously won't be a full 180 change, which I think is realistic and part of the beauty of this drama. It's proper character development, not idealized nonsense.

Also, I'm curious what you consider "betrayal" and "throwing under the boss". It's been a while since I watched this, but I'm pretty sure Li Xun never did any of that.

That's crazy. Last time I checked it was at 7.1 or 7.2 wasn't it?
Revisited a few scenes because I got somewhat bored of "When Destiny Brings a Demon" (which I watched for Arthur). The chemistry between Arthur & Zhang Jingyi puts most cdrama CPs to shame. Kind of tempted to rewatch L&P. It really is a masterpiece.

The logic in this show isn't very good.
But to be fair, the only reason Ruling betrayed them was to break the barrier so her people can return to the demon realm. Now that it has been or was broken, there's no reason for her to betray them anymore.

The drama isn't perfect. I was absolutely pissed at the FL for 2-3 episodes. I also found the villain uninteresting. He is cartoonishly evil, and I wished he was written better.

But this drama consistently gave me joy, laughter, and occasional tears. I really liked almost every character other than the villain, his sidekick, and the emperor.

I loved it. One of if not my favorite drama this year.

finished ep 5
what a breath of fresh air this drama is. i love this FL

Based on your comments I've seen, I believe you've read the novel. I think this is the main reason for your dissatisfaction; The show deviates from the novel.

Personally, I enjoy these "side quests".

Yea I think so as well. But she likely wouldn't have set him up if he didn't try to kill her.

She "betrayed" the other guy because he betrayed her first. He was planning to kill her so his marriage with the county princess would go smoothly.

Rough start. No popular "idol" actors/actresses to inflate rating like many shows.

It would be better if not everyone in this drama had a special & important identity.

Even the mom's (seemingly) love interest is some kind of marshal that even a 4th rank official has to bow to.

It's very underrated. I think it's one of the more enjoyable shows.
That being said, the show definitely has its flaws. But 7.6 is indicative of an absolute trainwreck of a drama which this drama is not. I think it should be in the 8.2-8.4 range. But maybe even higher because of rating inflation these days.

Yea, I guess my complaint was more-so how the drama portrayed the ML. If 80% of the time I see him is when he's around the FL (50% of which is to shoo the SML away) when he has other priorities, then I'm not gonna have a good impression of him.

But also, some things he's done kind of irked me. Like trying to invoke romantic feelings out of the FL when she sees him as a brother. It's weird, but I'm glad we're past that stage I think.